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Site review by Castor October 24, 2009
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
The music on this SACD is a mixture of very familiar and quite rare Tchaikovsky pieces, thrillingly played by an orchestra and conductor with this music in their blood, and recorded in what is surely some of the most vivid and immediate sound available on SACD.
The connection between these pieces is that all five were commissioned for occasional purposes or events and, although Tchaikovsky generally found such commissions distasteful and alien to his way of working, he brought his unique compositional flare to each of them with admittedly, in the eyes of posterity, varying success. A further musical link between these works is that in all but one of them Tchaikovsky quotes from the Imperial Russian anthem ‘God save the Tsar’, the exception being the longest and perhaps least well-known work on the disc, the ‘ Moscow Cantata’.
Like the ‘Festival Coronation March’ (Track 9) the cantata was composed for the coronation of the new Tsar Alexander III in 1883. Tchaikovsky used a text, full of patriotic fervor, by Apollon Miakov, that he found much to his liking and, remarkably, he completed the work in a mere two weeks. This attractive piece has received a number of recordings, mainly, but not exclusively, from Russian sources, though it is still rarely heard in the concert hall. The cantata is in six sections charting the history of the city of Moscow and the eventual emergence of and homage to the Tsar. The second and fifth movements, two richly melodic ariosos for mezzo-soprano, are movingly sung by Lyubov Sokolova (with a little muttering from Gergiev!), while the fourth movement and finale feature the splendidly firm baritone of Alexey Markov. The stirring contributions of the full-throated Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre are delivered with both discipline and fire.
The ‘Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem’ and the ‘Festival Coronation March’ are the final two rarities on this disc. Tchaikovsky thought enough of the latter to conduct it at Carnegie Hall on his first visit to America. Though neither of these pieces is generally held to be top-drawer Tchaikovsky, Gergiev’s absolutely committed interpretations, combined with such passionate and electrifying orchestral playing, challenge that view. Listen to the wonderful swagger in the central section of the ‘Coronation March’ and the way Gergiev imbues much of the ‘Festival Overture’ with an appealing balletic quality while never neglecting its inherent pomp.
‘Marche Slave’ (Track10) and the ‘1812 Overture’ (the first item on the disc) are both so familiar, not to say hackneyed, that it must be difficult for any conductor to prevent routine orchestral playing and at the same time give their performance some individuality. In both works Gergiev does just that, thanks both to his superbly responsive orchestra and his fairly swift, yet unexaggerated, tempi. In surround, the end of 1812 with cannons and pealing bells emerging from all speakers and enveloping the listener, is a hi-fi buff’s dream come true.
As on the previous Mariinsky releases, James Mallinson’s production and the engineering of John Newton and Dirk Sobotka are almost nonpareil. The orchestral sound has clarity, spaciousness and impact in abundance, while the chorus and soloists in the Moscow Cantata are given an ideal concert hall balance.
This is without doubt the finest Tchaikovsky collection that I have heard for many years and I cannot recommend it too highly.
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Copyright © 2009 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
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Review by Oakland November 3, 2009 (12 of 15 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
Anyone who needs another 1812, please raise your hand. Just what I thought; very few. Well, let’s be clear, this Gergiev disc has a host of compelling positives that go well beyond 1812 that makes this collection a most emphatic recommendation. Among them are the accompanying Tchaikovsky works, a couple which are rare (at least to me) and show just how brilliant and versatile a composer the man was, even when composing commissioned works (which all of these are) in as little as two weeks. The performances are engaging for the entire 64 minutes. Hey, I might even go so far as to say that the “1812” performance is the most enjoyable “modern” (last 30 years?) recording I have. (A Haitink/Philips LP released in 1973 remains my favorite recording. But to be fair I was “imprinted” on that recording). The Gergiev recording is very good, indeed (although perhaps less than “demonstration” quality because it is not exactly a model for the employment of “purist” minimalist microphone techniques), especially for large orchestral works.
The content of this disc had several surprises for me. When I first decided to make my purchase and saw references in the promo to “soloists and chorus” I assumed, wrongly, that the “1812 Overture” was a version that included voices. I had enjoyed the Telarc 1812 SACD (1999) largely for the choruses (the performance was not all that), especially the children’s choir, and that feature was a draw for me. I most likely would not have made the Gergiev purchase if I had known that this “1812” is, in fact, the traditional orchestral only version. But by the end of my listen I was only mildly disappointed given the excellent performance and excellent sound quality.
The bass and “cannon” fire on this disc, while short on “authenticism”, are nevertheless, quite effective and the pealing church bells are very well done. (Actually, the only 1812 recording that, for me, had cannon fire that was even remotely believable was the original Telarc LP (1979) and CD. Of course, that disc exhibited unmitigated and often destructive slam that caused its maledictory ban in many high-end shops here in the San Francisco Bay Area. But volatile and pronounced woofer excursion can occur and with more than ample challenges for the mid range, too, on the Gergiev disc. I would characterize the slam factor as “safe and sane”. But make no mistake; this is an all-hands-on-deck recording that can make extreme demands on all resources. (I listen in multi-channel).
And, importantly, the Gergiev discs validates that performance *does* matter, even with the “1812 Overture” a work that has been marginalized as having little imagination, substance, influence, importance, etc. There is a tangible but yet intangible vernacular zest and exuberance that permeates the performance (and defines the ethos for the entire disc) that show that the musicians really appreciate, love and feel the music. Yet there is no sense that the music is in anyway over rehearsed, that it is sculpted or that it’s phoned in. We are talking real electricity and passion with these performances.
“Moscow” Cantata ensured that the mild disappointment of a non-choral “1812” was short-lived by fulfilling my requisite wish for purchasing this disc in the first place, a substantive choral work. The “Moscow” Cantata turned out for me to be the crown jewel of this wonderful disc. The music, choruses, soloists, musicians, and sound quality come together in a glorious way. I found the mezzo-soprano, especially, in the two ariosos, and the baritone, also, to be compelling. The soloists and the chorus lend weight in just the right balance to the music.
The compositions on this disc all of which were commissioned pieces for specific festive occasions, while high quality, are not intended to be “complex” or especially inventive. For sure they are intended to inspire. They are thoroughly enjoyable, passionate and stirring of intuitive senses, but not especially erudite. You don’t have to “figure it out” or “ponder the meaning of life on earth” to relate to these compositions. As somewhat of an exception, “Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem” does add a layer of complexity that the other compositions may not exhibit. This appears to be a rarely recorded piece (unlike the “Festival Coronation March”, also on this disc), but happens to be a piece with which I am familiar. I own a Chandos LP performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Simon. At the time of the LP release (1981) the “Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem” was billed as “a first recording”. While certainly not “complex” this composition, intersperses among the rousing themes a multi-layering of concurrent themes, insightful pauses, and a smattering of brief solos to showcase musicians, without all sacrificing its primary mission to inspire. If you are not familiar with this piece I think you are in for a pleasant surprise.
The other two compositions on this disc, “Festival Coronation March” and the ubiquitous “Marche Slav” are equally well performed and well recorded and while certainly familiar to Tchaikovsky devotees still display a refreshing individuality as performed by the Marinsky Orchestra.
“Playability” is helped immensely in that the disc is cut at a relatively high level so you really don’t need a loud volume to get the desired effect. (While certainly truly "dynamic" these compositions don’t have a lot of "dynamic range". That is, there are not a lot of super quiet passages or dynamic contrasts so the listener need not worry about excessive dynamic range....except for, perhaps, the cannon fire).
If I were just rating the 1812 then this disc would get 4 1/2 stars. But the rest of the Tchaikovsky repertoire performed here easily elevates it to 5 stars.
Robert C. Lang
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Review by DSD November 26, 2009 (9 of 17 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
I have a dissenting view, I have listened to the Mariinsky 1812 through both speakers and my Sennheiser headphones. I am sorry to say I am very disappointed in it's sound quality, not only of the sound of the orchestra but the bass fundamental of the cannon shots are totally missing in two channel stereo. I have the 1991 DSD recorded Telarc 1812 (SACD-60541) and the cannon shots have deep bass with not only tremendous impact but humongous physical size by contrast the Mariinsky 1812 cannon shots sound like pop guns with some low level bass rumble. The Telarc SACD cannons sound like real honest to god cannons using real live ammunition.
The cellos and basses lack the warmth and foundation so important to Tchaikovsky's music, the bass drum, timpani and other percussion instruments lack the impact of the Telarc SACD. By contrast Telarc's bass is firmer, solid and has more weight, it sounds more like the bass I hear in a concert hall.
I was so shocked at how poor this SACD sounds I played the Mariinsky Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15 and this SACD while still not great in the deepest low frequencies was superb from the midrange up and sounded just like my PFO review stated http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue45/sacd.htm . It has the amazing sparkling high frequencies I remembered which are greatly subdued on the Mariinsky Tchaikovsky 1812 SACD and it had the feeling of being in the presence of live musicians.
I recommend getting the 2nd Telarc SACD Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture etc. - Cincinnati Pops/Kunzel, the DSD recorded one which has the advantage of using chorus in the "1812 Overture" for it's deep realistic bass, flow of the music, the smoothness of the strings, warmer sound, more spectacular cannon shots and carillons.
Since Mariinsky records DSD I wanted this to be a great sounding recording, I was so disappointed when I heard it and I hope this is a fluke and their future recordings are of the sonic level of the Shostakovich.
Now that I have sonics out of the way, I was not too impressed with the performances themselves, I have heard many superior performances of the 1812 Overture and I prefer the use of chorus at the beginning as that sounds so "right" to me. I didn't like the Moscow Cantata at all. I did really enjoy the rarely played Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem even with the less than perfect sonics.
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